Congratulations to our September Advocates of the Month! This month we honor Sue Bouzounis, Kim Marrelli, Teresa O'Connor, Karen Vorhies and Shirley Belknap who all have done an amazing job collecting signed postcards for our Postcards for Parity Program. According to Kim,

"Helping out with the Postcards for Parity Program was a no-brainer. This issue has the potential to affect all MM patients. To me, treating all cancer treatments equally is just common sense. When I explain the issue in these terms, people just naturally want to help." Read these Rockstars' tips for collecting postcards here.

ONLINE RESOURCES

Missed the Advocacy Webinar? Have no Fear; we've got it here. A lot of fun was had as we walked through the 10 Steps to Building a Relationship with your Legislator this Election Season. Watch it today!

Your Stories Make Legislation HappenOver the years we have shared stories with legislators across the country of patients who have had trouble accessing their oral anticancer medication because of high out of pocket costs; like Kelly, Caethe and Robert. We have learned that nothing makes a bigger impact than putting a face on the situation that is placing a huge financial strain on many Americans. Now we want to hear YOUR story. In the upcoming year we will again be focused on passing legislation that encourages insurance companies to keep up with innovation. If you are a patient with private, commercial insurance and have high out-of-pocket expenses for your oral therapies, that may prevent you from filling your prescription, please contact us to share your stories. While we need folks from every state, Wisconsin and Tennessee are currently high priorities based on the legislative landscapes in those states. Please email your story to Aimee with your name, address and phone number.

Do you live in Atlanta or the surrounding areas?

This December we will be hosting our 3rd Annual Advocacy Training at ASH. We are excited to be on the ground with advocates from Georgia to build the base for a strong Georgian Action team. This year we will go over the basics of advocacy and discuss the current political landscape for cancer patients post the 2012 elections.

First Oral Drug for Prostate Cancer has IMF making sure EVERY patient knows the Law in their home state.Director of US Advocacy, Meghan Buzby, presented to 250 advocates from Zero-The Project to End Prostate Cancer on the work we are doing around the country on oral chemotherapy access legislation. We made sure the patients and caregivers who attended their DC summit were educated about the laws that have been passed in each state to enable them to get the new treatment without suffering unnecessary cost disparity. These advocates are now armed with our Oral Parity Legislation Fact Sheets to make sure their doctors are informed of the laws in their states. Have you brought your doctors and nurses a Fact Sheet yet? Click Here

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Advocacy Tip of the Month

** We know sometimes you just can't collect the postcard right after someone signs it. In these cases, before you give it to someone, put a stamp on the card to make it easy for people to just drop it in the mailbox.**